3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Academic achievement in ADHD adolescents experiencing barriers to learning : perceptions of parents and learners.(2014-02-25) Kruger, MichalThe aim of this research was to determine the perceptions of parents and learners are surrounding academic achievement and the factors which contribute to it, taking into consideration barriers to learning. The research also aimed to investigate what their perceptions are on the factors which contribute to academic achievement. There were a total of six dyads, six adolescents (middle to late adolescence) and eight parents. All of the adolescents had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Each of the adolescents took part in an interview and the parents took part in a separate interview. The interviews were semi-structured in nature. The findings of the study indicated that academic achievement was defined as being based on marks or on the ability of the learners to achieve their potential. The factors perceived to influence academic achievement such as peers, educators, school environment and the role of parents were found to be similar between parents and adolescents. The barrier to learning (ADHD) was not perceived as having a greater influence on academic achievement than any other factor.Item An exploration into educators' perceptions and attitudes towards immigrant learners(2007-02-13T13:25:49Z) Sikhakhane, Lynette MatshepoThe main purpose of the study described in this report was to explore educators’ perceptions and their attitudes towards immigrant learners in their school and how those impact on them, at work and in their social lives. This study was both qualitative and quantitative in nature. Questionnaires were used as research instruments in this study and semi-structured interviews were also carried out with individual educators. The sample of the study constituted thirteen educators from a school in Gauteng. The school was chosen because of its situation and because it is a co-educational school in an area with many immigrants. Educators’ comments suggest that they are not adequately trained or prepared to deal with immigrants in their classroom. They perceived that they were not sufficiently equipped or informed with the policy of inclusion to accommodate immigrant learners. Further areas of concern expressed by educators include an inability to overcome the language barrier when dealing with the learners from outside South Africa, and a generalised lack of support by employers and superiors. From the results of this study, one can deduce that in general educators perceive immigrant learners as an additional burden to deal with in a classroom situation, which impacts negatively on their work performance.